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Cowen re-distributing wealth to the wealthy - Ó Caoláin

Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, speaking on the
Finance Bill, 2007, in the Dáil this evening, accused Minister Cowen of re-distributing
‘wealth regressively in favour of the already wealthy’. Deputy Ó Caoláin
went on to attack the decision by the Government to, in effect, incentivise
the purchase of high carbon emitting vehicles.

The Cavan-Monaghan TD said: “Under this Government’s tenure, successive
income tax cuts have benefited high income individuals more, in real terms,
than those on low-incomes. Tax expenditures have re-distributed wealth
regressively in favour of the already wealthy.

“If, as the Government claims, they were using the tax system to ensure that
those on low and middle incomes benefited from the economic boom, they would
be eliminating unfair tax advantages for the wealthy, reviewing VAT charges
which hit low income families hardest and increasing the restrictions on the
use of specified tax relief’s for high income individuals.

“The reality is that those just below the average industrial wage, people on
€30,000 per annum, gained least per week from this budget. As I pointed out
during the debate on the Budget, workers on €30,000 per annum gained €8 per
week, compared to gains of at least twice as much per week for those above
€35,000.

“One of the most bizarre aspects of the budget, and the Finance Bill,
was the announcement of a delayed introduction of a higher rate of motor tax
for high emitting vehicles. The higher rate of motor tax announced for high
emitting vehicles is not coming into effect until this time next year and
then only for vehicles registered after January 2008.

“Why did the government purposely give people a year’s notice of this
measure, amounting to an incentive to purchase high emitting vehicles
throughout 2007? Sales of SUVs and other such vehicles soared during the
month of January. As other governments across the globe face up to the
reality of climate change and move to implement measures to reduce
emissions, this Government is long fingering even these minor measures,
which would receive substantial support from the public. This is totally
unacceptable.

“There are a number of measures in the legislation which I would like to
welcome. These include keeping those on the minimum wage out of the tax net,
though we had hoped to see a more substantial increase in the wage rate and
that those on the average industrial wage are to be kept within the standard
tax band.”